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best tablet to draw?

M

mnya

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 20, 2012
38
0
hello!
I am an amateur animator, and I plan to make digital sketches on a tablet and export them into Photoshop & Aftereffects to make animation.
My sketches will be simple cartoons which require no pressure-sensitivity, so I hope I can do that on an affordable tablet.

I've tried a few tablets to get the feel...
First I guessed sharp-pointy styluses are probably better, so I tried the S-Pen on Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Although it felt very close to natural drawing, it was skipping a lot, so I didn't like it.
I tried Adonit Jot Pro with the small disc on a Nexus 7. It was skipping, too. :(
Then I tried Joy DaVinci with the bigger-squishy tip on Samsung Tab 2, and I was pleasantly surprised it was pretty easy to draw with.
I'm going to try an iPad as soon as I find a demo one that has a drawing app installed.

Are all the screen technology of iPads, Nexus, and Samsung (except Notes) pretty much the same in terms of responsiveness to drawing?
If so, should I just get the one that offers the best value & screen size?
Also considering which tablet has more potential for apps that may be useful for drawing, coloring, and animation, and good compatible styluses, which tablet is the best?
(I don't really want those Wacoms where you have to draw on a tablet while looking at your computer screen... but Cintiq is too expensive.)
Thank you for your input! :)
 
mnya said:
hello!
I am an amateur animator, and I plan to make digital sketches on a tablet and export them into Photoshop & Aftereffects to make animation.
My sketches will be simple cartoons which require no pressure-sensitivity, so I hope I can do that on an affordable tablet.

I've tried a few tablets to get the feel...
First I guessed sharp-pointy styluses are probably better, so I tried the S-Pen on Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Although it felt very close to natural drawing, it was skipping a lot, so I didn't like it.
I tried Adonit Jot Pro with the small disc on a Nexus 7. It was skipping, too. :(
Then I tried Joy DaVinci with the bigger-squishy tip on Samsung Tab 2, and I was pleasantly surprised it was pretty easy to draw with.
I'm going to try an iPad as soon as I find a demo one that has a drawing app installed.

Are all the screen technology of iPads, Nexus, and Samsung (except Notes) pretty much the same in terms of responsiveness to drawing?
If so, should I just get the one that offers the best value & screen size?
Also considering which tablet has more potential for apps that may be useful for drawing, coloring, and animation, and good compatible styluses, which tablet is the best?
(I don't really want those Wacoms where you have to draw on a tablet while looking at your computer screen... but Cintiq is too expensive.)
Thank you for your input! :)
Click to expand...

Apparently the screen responsiveness of Apple's iPad Air is the highest. I read a review but can't remember where I saw that one. There is some screen specialised reviewer somewhere that covered this. You could also have a look at Anandtech. They do good technical reviews.
 
mnya said:
hello!
I am an amateur animator, and I plan to make digital sketches on a tablet and export them into Photoshop & Aftereffects to make animation.
My sketches will be simple cartoons which require no pressure-sensitivity, so I hope I can do that on an affordable tablet.

I've tried a few tablets to get the feel...
First I guessed sharp-pointy styluses are probably better, so I tried the S-Pen on Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Although it felt very close to natural drawing, it was skipping a lot, so I didn't like it.
I tried Adonit Jot Pro with the small disc on a Nexus 7. It was skipping, too. :(
Then I tried Joy DaVinci with the bigger-squishy tip on Samsung Tab 2, and I was pleasantly surprised it was pretty easy to draw with.
I'm going to try an iPad as soon as I find a demo one that has a drawing app installed.

Are all the screen technology of iPads, Nexus, and Samsung (except Notes) pretty much the same in terms of responsiveness to drawing?
If so, should I just get the one that offers the best value & screen size?
Also considering which tablet has more potential for apps that may be useful for drawing, coloring, and animation, and good compatible styluses, which tablet is the best?
(I don't really want those Wacoms where you have to draw on a tablet while looking at your computer screen... but Cintiq is too expensive.)
Thank you for your input! :)
Click to expand...

Ny understanding is that the best drawing tablet is the Microsoft Surface. Artists have been one of the primary users of the device.
 
I personally don't like the iPad at all for drawing. We'll any serious drawing at least. It's ok in a pinch, but the limitations with the stylus is the primary reason. I've heard some decent things about the new Wacom stylus, but you're still stuck with the annoying thick nub at the end.

Cant comment on other tablets either, but the surface seems like a viable option for this purpose.

I also wouldn't count out an Intuos simply because you don't draw directly on the screen. I've used them for years and they're awesome. Unless you really need the portability obviously.
 
I noticed "Paper" was installed in the demo iPads the last time I was at an Apple store. It's a good drawing app to use to try out an iPad.
 
handsome pete said:
I personally don't like the iPad at all for drawing. We'll any serious drawing at least. It's ok in a pinch, but the limitations with the stylus is the primary reason. I've heard some decent things about the new Wacom stylus, but you're still stuck with the annoying thick nub at the end.

Cant comment on other tablets either, but the surface seems like a viable option for this purpose.

I also wouldn't count out an Intuos simply because you don't draw directly on the screen. I've used them for years and they're awesome. Unless you really need the portability obviously.
Click to expand...

Yup, an Intuous/tablet is a very different deal from an iPad.

I've actually just gotten a Monoprice tablet, the quality level is very similar to the Wacoms for a fraction of the price.
 
+1 for Suface Pro 2.
But, I don't mind having screen and table separated, so Intuos A4 for the win!
 
mnya said:
I tried the S-Pen on Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Although it felt very close to natural drawing, it was skipping a lot, so I didn't like it.
Click to expand...

Before you give up on Samsung, you should check out the new Note 10.1 (the 2014 edition). It's based on much more recent tech than the note 8. I have one of these and drawing is one of the things that I really like to do with it. I haven't had it very long and I know my needs aren't as great as yours, but I've had a great experience so far. I really like the fact that you can set it so the S-Pen can draw on the screen but your finger can't- this greatly reduces the risk of accidental lines being added. (out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Surface 2 is able to do this?)
 
GregAndonian said:
Before you give up on Samsung, you should check out the new Note 10.1 (the 2014 edition). It's based on much more recent tech than the note 8. I have one of these and drawing is one of the things that I really like to do with it. I haven't had it very long and I know my needs aren't as great as yours, but I've had a great experience so far. I really like the fact that you can set it so the S-Pen can draw on the screen but your finger can't- this greatly reduces the risk of accidental lines being added. (out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Surface 2 is able to do this?)
Click to expand...

I just picked up a 1st-gen Pro in that fire-sale last weekend. You can't set it explicitly to only accept input from the stylus, but it seems to be very good at ignoring accidental input.

From what I've tested so far, if you're actively using the stylus, it will completely ignore any hand/finger input that you give the screen.
 
tablet for drawing

GregAndonian said:
Before you give up on Samsung, you should check out the new Note 10.1 (the 2014 edition). It's based on much more recent tech than the note 8. I have one of these and drawing is one of the things that I really like to do with it. I haven't had it very long and I know my needs aren't as great as yours, but I've had a great experience so far. I really like the fact that you can set it so the S-Pen can draw on the screen but your finger can't- this greatly reduces the risk of accidental lines being added. (out of curiosity, does anyone know if the Surface 2 is able to do this?)
Click to expand...

I have a Note 10.1 2014 and the active stylus/handwriting/drawing capabilities are excellent. I also considered a Surface Pro, which has excellent active Stylus support for drawing and handwriting (and probably the best handwriting recognition software that exists). I went with the Note mainly due to 1) Price and 2) The 16:9 aspect ratio is terrible in portrait mode for me.

iPad presently cannot compete for this use case, so I use my iPad for most everything else tablet related.
 
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